Toy figure



April 14, 1959 M. I. GLASS 7 2,381,559

' TOY FIGURE Filed Sept. 12, 1956 I I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 0000000000 /ooooooooooooeoo\og IN V EN TOR.

April 14, 1959 i GLASS 2,881,559

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-. Filed Sept. 12, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet s April 14,1959 M. l. GLASS 2,831,559

I .TOY FIGURE Filed Sept. 12, 1956 4 Sheets-Shet 4 f z/\ Q/NQQ) INVENTOR.

BY w y. VE- *F' 1 United States Patent TOY FIGURE Marvin 1. Glass, Chicago, 1]].

Application September 12, 1956, Serial No. 609,362 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-104) This invention relates to a toy figure.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a toy figure with an oscillating hand which will support a toy object for oscillating movement to simulate well known natural characteristic movements.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toy figure with a movable hand which interchangeably supports one at a time various toy objects which hand moves such object in such a manner as to simulate certain well known natural actions.

Another object is to provide a toy figure operated by batteries, which moves in controlled directions and which has an oscillating hand for supporting a toy object and has means for arresting oscillation of said hand.

More specifically this invention comprises a figure in the form of a toy doll having a pair of hands, at least one of which oscillates and supports a toy object such as a broom or mop which oscillates said broom or mop to simulate the actions of a person sweeping or mopping a floor and which toy figure moves forwardly during 'such' action. Said oscillating hand is also adapted to interchangeably support a toy baby and to simulate the action of rocking said baby.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front view of the toy figure.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the toy figure.

Fig. 3 is a rear view thereof. 4 Fig. 4 is an enlarged view taken on lines 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view taken on lines 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view taken on lines 6--6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a view taken on lines 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a view taken on lines 88 of Fig. 4 but with the hand in extended position.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the right hand and its supporting shaft.

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 10-10 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view of the toy.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the supporting frame.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged perspective exploded view of a portion of the shaft for supporting the right hand as well as the parts connected thereto.

Fig. 14 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 14- 14 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 15 is a view of a toy object to be held in the right hand such as a simulated toy broom.

Fig. 16 is a side elevational view of a toy object such as a-simulated vacuum sweeper to be held in the left hand. a 1 1 Fig. 17 is a view of a toy object such" as a toy doll to be held in the right hand.

Fig. 18 is the circuit diagram.

The figure housing is generally indicated by the numeral'20 and comprises a hollow'housing as. shown, made of plastic or like material which may be made of I the frame.

2,881,559 Patented Apr. 14, 1959 "ice two half sections namely the front and back and secured together to form an integral housing. The design may be preferably as shown to indicate a robot doll although it will be understood that any other type of figure may be used.

Supported inside the lower portion of the figure housing is a frame member made preferably of metal and generally indicated at 22 and best shown in Fig. 12. The frame comprises a bottom wall 24 having a pair of spaced front side walls 25 and 26 each having an arcuate shaped section 28 to accommodate dry cell batteries. Extending upwardly from the rear is a rear wall 30 which is bent forwardly to form an inclined top wall 31 and which terminates in a vertical intermediate lip 32.

The bottom wall 24 has an enlarged rectangular shaped opening 34 toaccommodate the rear steering wheel and a front slot 36 to accommodate the front traction or power wheel. A cutout 38 is also provided between the arcuate sections 28 for insertion of the batteries.

The top wall has a rearwardly extending upper horizontal tongue 40 struck out and also a lower forwardly extending horizontal tongue 42 therefrom to accommodate the steering rod, a forwardly extending horizontal tongue 43 is also struck out from the top wall directly over the batteries.

A' small electric motor 44 is secured to the lip ;32 of The motor shaft 45 of the motor 44 has a pinion 46 secured thereto.

Rotatably supported in the side walls of the frame below said motor is a shaft 48 which has fixedly secured to it a large gear 50 in mesh with and driven by the motor pinion 46. Also fixedly secured to said shaft is a pinion 51 which engages and drives a large gear 52 fixedly mounted on rotatable shaft 54 positioned below shaft 48. Shaft 54 is journalled in the side walls of the frame. Shaft 54 extends laterally of the side wall 26 and is shaped to provide a crank member 55. Fixedly mounted on shaft 54 is a pinion 56 in engagement with the teeth 57 of traction wheel 58 to drive said traction wheel. Traction wheel 58 is fixedly secured to shaft 59 journalled in the side walls of the frame 22.

The two dry cell batteries 60 and 61 are inserted in the frame member through cutout 38 and are removably supported in the frame by a plate 63 detachably secured to the bottom of the frame. The tongue 43 is provided with spaced openings 64 and 65 which are over the poles of the batteries and which permit the batteries to be connected in the electrical circuit.

The steering wheel 66 is supported in the rear and said wheel is rotatably supported on an axle 67 secured to an inverted U-shaped bracket 68. Secured to the top of the U-shaped bracket 68 is a rod 69 which extends through aligned openings in tongues 40 and 42. The rod 69 is bent rearwardly at an angle to extend through a slot 71 in the figure housing to form a manually operated steering handle 72 for steering the toy. The slot 71 is provided with three recesses into which the handle may be positioned so that the direction of travel of the toy may be maintained. The steering wheel 66 extends through the rectangular shaped opening 34 in the bottom of the frame.

The front of the figure housing is provided with two stationary simulated arms 74 and 76 which extend forwardly of the figure housing. The right arm 74 extending substantially at right angles to the figure and the left arm 76 being inclined downwardly and in a lower plane than the right arm as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The arms may be molded as part of the figure. Extending inwardly of the front wall of the right arm 74 is a sleeve 78 which has a top rear flat surface 79. The mouth of the sleeve has an enlarged bore 80 and extending into said bore is an arcuate shaped lip 81 which is formed in the 'wall and which forms a stop member as best shown 1n Fig. 14. Supported in sleeve 78 is a hand supporting shaft generally indicated at 82 which is best shown in Fig. 9. The shaft comprises a rod like portion 83 having a reduced end 84 which has a flat top and bottom surface. Extending forwardly of the rod portion 83 is an enlarged annular portion 85 from which extends a pair of spaced lugs 86. Extending forwardly of the enlarged annular portion 85 of the shaft is an inverted L shaped extension 87 providing a rear shoulder 88. Pivotally secured as by a pin 89 to the front of the extension 87 is ahand member generally indicated at 90. The rear of the hand member has a flat horizontal surface 91 which is positioned adjacent the flat under surface of the extension 87. The hand member may be thus pivoted with respect to the supporting shaft 82 as best seen in Figs. 1 and 4. The hand member is provided with a longitudinal slot 92 communicating with a transverse entrance slot 93.

The hand supporting shaft 82 is positioned in the sleeve 78 and extends rearwardly thereof into the interior of the housing. The enlarged annular portion 85 and the spaced lugs 86 of the shaft 82 being positioned in the enlarged front bore 80 of said sleeve. The shaft 82 is adapted to beoscillated in said sleeve as will be described. The angle of oscillation being limited by the engagement of the lugs 86 of the shaft with the stop member 81 of the sleeve 78. The shaft 82 also has a slight axial sliding movement in said sleeve for the purpose of arresting its oscillation.

Connected to the rear of the hand supporting shaft 82 is a link member generally indicated at 95 made of metal having a certain amount of resiliency. The rear of the link member has an upright portion 96 having an elongated slot 97 for engagement with the reduced end 84 of the shaft. The shaft 82 has a threaded bore 98 to receive a suitable fastening element 99 positioned against washers 100 bearing against the rear of the upright 96 to secure said link 95 to said shaft. The top of the upright portion 96 is bent forwardly to provide a flange 101 which when the shaft 82 is slid forwardly is adapted to engage the flat surface 79 of the sleeve 78 to arrest the oscillating action of the link member 95.

The opposite end of the link member 95 is secured as at 102 to a connecting rod 104 which in turn is secured as at 106 to the crank member 55. When the motor 44 is opearting, it will through the gears and pinions previously described rotate the crank member 55 which in turn operates the connecting rod 104 to oscillate the link member 95 which in turn will oscillate the hand supporting shaft 82 and the hand member 90 secured thereto. This condition is true provided the hand supporting shaft 82 has been slid rearwardly in its sleeve so that the flange 101 of the upright 96 is not in engagement with the flat surface 79 of the sleeve 78. As previously explained if it is desired to arrest oscillation of the hand member and its supporting shaft, the supporting shaft 82 is slid slightly forwardly in the sleeve so that the flange 101 engages the flat surface 79 of the sleeve 78. When thus engaged the link member 95 will be pre* vented from oscillating even though the connecting rod is still operating. The resiliency of the link member 95 will permit the link to vibrate as the connecting rod continues its operation.

The left arm 76 of the figure as best shown in Figs. 4 and 8 has a sleeve 108 extending inwardly of the arm which sleeve has an enlarged bore 109 at the front thereof which is provided with a key slot 110. The left band member generally indicated at 112 is similar to the right hand and is pivoted as at 113 to the inverted L shaped extension 114 of the hand supporting shaft generally indicated at 116. The shaft 116 has a key 117 engaging the key slot to prevent rotation of the shaft 116. The shaft is secured to the sleeve by a suitable fastening be pivoted and positioned in a straight line forwardly 'of the body and at right angles to its supporting shaft similar to that of the right hand.

A toy object such as a simulated broom, mop or the like as shown in Fig. 15 is provided with a handle 120 which has a pair of spaced annular flanges 121. The handle of the toy object is frictionally supported in the slot of the right hand with the two flanges 121 spaced above and below the hand to more positively secure the broom in the hand. The right hand is then pivoted at right angles to its supporting shaft and the left hand is likewise pivoted at right angles to its supporting shaft to be under the right hand with portions of the slots of each in vertical alinement. The slot of the left hand is of such size as not to interfere with the oscillating movement of the broom handle. As the right arm oscillates, the toy broom will oscillate giving the impression that the toy figure is sweeping the floor as it moves forwardly. If for example it is desired to simulate the rocking of a baby, a toy figure such as shown in Fig. 17 is placed in the right hand in lieu of the broom handle. The toy figure has a depending stem 122 provided with spaced annular flanges 123 which are similar to the handle portion of the broom handle. If it is desired to arrest oscillation of the right hand, the hand and its supporting shaft is slid forwardly. If for example it is desired to simulate the action of moving a sweeper over a surface, the oscillation of the right hand is arrested and the left hand is positioned in a straight line forwardly of its shaft and the simulated toy vacuum sweeper as shown in Fig. 16 is secured to the left hand. The handle 125 of the sweeper is provided with an extension 126 having a slot 127. The slot 127 engages the front wall of the band member to frictionally hold it thereto. Thus as the figure moves forwardly the sweeper moves forwardly therewith.

A suitable slide switch 130 is secured to the rear of the toy figure and said switch is covered by a simulated ribbon 131 so that the ribbon is manually engaged in operating the slide switch to open and closed positions. Sliding the ribbon sidewise in one direction closes the switch and sliding it in the opposite direction opens the switch.

The circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 18. The positive pole of battery 61 is connected by conducting wire 132 to one terminal of the slide switch 130 with the other terminal of the switch connected to the motor 44. The motor is connected by conducting wire 133 to the negative terminal of battery 60. A conducting plate 134 connects the opposite poles of the batteries.

The operation of the toy will be understood from the foregoing but will be brieflly described.

When the switch 130 is closed the motor 44 will operate to rotate pinion 46 which rotates gear 50 and shaft 48 to rotate pinion 51 which rotates gear 52 andshaft 54 to rotate pinion 56 to rotate the drive wheel 58 and shaft 59 to propel the toy forwardly. By engaging the handle 72 and positioning it in any of the slots the toy will move either straight forwardly or to the right or to the left in a continuous manner dependent on the slot in which the handle has been positioned. As shaft 54 is rotating, the crank 55 operates the connecting rod 104 to oscillate the link 95, hand supporting shaft 82 and the right hand 90 thereon. As the right hand oscillates, it oscillates with it the simulated broom or mop. This operation continues as the toy is moving forwardly in any of the aforementioned directions. To arrest oscillation of the right hand, the right hand is pulled forwardly which moves the shaft 82 with it so that the flange 101 engages the flat portion 79 of the sleeve 78. Opening the switch 130 will open the circuit to arrest operation of the toy.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a body having a stationary arm provided with a horizontally extending fixed sleeve opening forwardly of the body, a shaft horizontally supported in said fixed sleeve and extending forwardly to the front of said body, a hand member secured to the front of said shaft means for rotating said shaft about a single axis within circumferential limits to obtain a rocking movement of said hand member forwardly of the front of said body to simulate a sweeping action, said hand member having a slotted portion to interchangeably receive and support any one of a plurality of toy objects, a rotatable wheel for supporting and for propelling said toy, motor means for simultaneously rotating said wheel to propel said toy and for rocking said shaft and hand member, and means for arresting the rocking of said shaft and hand member without arresting the rotation of said wheel.

2. A toy comprising a body having a stationary arm provided with a horizontally extending fixed sleeve opening forwardly of the body, a shaft horizontally supported in said fixed sleeve and extending forwardly to the front of said body, a hand member pivotally secured to the front of said shaft means for rotating said shaft about a single axis within circumferential limits to obtain a rocking movement of said hand member forwardly of the front of said body to simulate a sweeping action, said hand member having a slotted portion to interchangeably receive and support any one of a plurality of toy objects, a rotatable wheel for supporting and for propelling said toy, motor means for simultaneously rotating said wheel to propel said toy and for rocking said shaft and hand member, and means for arresting the rocking of said shaft and hand member without arresting the rotation of said wheel, said hand member adapted to be pivoted inwardly parallel with the front of said body.

3. A toy comprising a body having a pair of stationary arms providing fixed supports opening forwardly of the body and at right angles to said body, a shaft horizontally supported in one of said fixed supports and extending forwardly to the front of said body, a first hand member secured to said shaft means for rotating said shaft about a single axis within circumferential limits to obtain a rocking movement of said hand member forwardly of the front of said body to simulate a sweeping action, said band member having a slotted portion to interchangeably receive and support any one of a plurality of toy objects, a second hand member supported in the fixed support of said other stationary arm, said second hand member having a slotted portion larger than the slotted portion of said first hand member, means for positioning both said band members in overlapping relation to simulate a grasping position, a wheel for supporting said toy body and for propelling said toy, motor means for simultaneously rotating said wheel and for rocking said shaft and first hand member, and means for arresting the rocking of said shaft and first hand member without arresting the rotation of said wheel.

4. A toy comprising a body having a stationary arm provided with a horizontal extending fixed sleeve opening forwardly of the body, a shaft horizontally supported in said fixed sleeve and extending forwardly to the front of said body, a hand member secured to the front of said shaft for rocking movement of said hand member forwardly of the front of said body to simulate a sweeping action, said hand member having a slotted portion to interchangeably receive and support any one of a plurality of toy objects, a rotatable wheel for supporting said toy body and for propelling said toy, a motor inside said toy body, a crank arm operated by said motor, a connecting rod connected to said crank arm, a flexible link connected at one end to said connecting rod and at its other end to said shaft for rocking said shaft on operation of said motor, gear means connecting said motor to said rotatable wheel for propelling said toy on operation of said motor, means for axially sliding said shaft so that said flexible link engages said sleeve to prevent rocking of said shaft during operation of said motor and the propelling of said toy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,099,913 Buckley u ..l June 16, 1914 1,261,528 Hess a Apr. 2, 1918 1,893,121 Alger i Jan. 3, 1933 2,269,334 Bocchino 3 Jan. 6, 1942 2,466,214 Deaton Apr. 5, 1949 2,771,708 Enison Nov. 27, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 433,472 France 1911 422,160 Italy 1947 

